Monroe County emergency drill shows areas for improvement

Sunday

Nov 25, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Local emergency service workers, Chestnuthill Township officials, Pleasant Valley School District staffers and other entities that participated in an emergency drill in October did a good job, but there is lots of room for improvement.

CHAD SMITH

Local emergency service workers, Chestnuthill Township officials, Pleasant Valley School District staffers and other entities that participated in an emergency drill in October did a good job, but there is lots of room for improvement.

That's according to a report drafted by the company hired to create the drill and then assess the emergency response.

"The entire response remained focused on rescuing victims and protecting the community, but there are definitely areas for improvement," A6A Associates wrote in an "after-action" report.

The drill, which the Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Counter-Terrorism Task Force paid for using federal dollars, was held Oct. 13 on Firehouse Lane in Chestnuthill Township.

The scenario: A Pleasant Valley school bus packed with students crashes into a chemical tanker filled with anhydrous ammonia, a deadly chemical.

All parties participating in the drill were to respond to the mock accident just as they would if the entire situation were real.

About 15 separate entities participated, including the Monroe County Coroner's Office and Pennsylvania Department of Health.

The report said all responders tried to help students on the bus, noted there was "excellent teamwork among agencies" and pointed to how well Pleasant Valley School District in particular did at protecting the students who were within the district's buildings when the accident occurred.

However, the report did say some major mistakes were made.

"The aggressive approach by responders and (some) school personnel may have resulted in additional casualties from the chemical hazard."

The report specifically took issue with Pennsylvania State Police and members of fire police, who first responded to the scene.

The report noted that troopers and fire police came within 230 feet of the crash scene. The recommended space that first responders should put between themselves and a tanker spewing contents that are yet to be determined is 2,625 feet.

In addition, the report said, police and fire police approached the crash site from downwind — the deadlier way to approach — when "approaches from upwind and cross wind were available."

The report also said police and fire personnel did not appear to have weather data, which could have told them which way the wind was blowing, nor did they at first use binoculars to look for placards on the tanker that might indicate that the tank was carrying deadly chemicals.

The report recommended that state police and other emergency responders always have the number for the National Weather Service on hand so they can find out which way the wind is blowing.

The report also had recommendations for several Pleasant Valley High School staff members who responded to the scene.

Moments after the staff members arrived, they "were soon moving in and out of the chemical cloud" in an effort to help the people on the school bus.

But according to health experts, exposure to high levels of anhydrous ammonia can cause death from a swollen throat or from chemical burns to the lungs.

The report said that all three staff members would have "become chemical casualties," meaning they probably would have died, if the crash had been real.

A6A Associates recommended that school staff — especially those who are more proactive or can see themselves responding to emergency situations — receive training on how to respond to crisis situations.

The report also said that a water cannon set up by the West End Fire Company was not employed optimally, ultimately allowing more vapors and fumes to escape from the tanker.

The report, while acknowledging that triage is difficult when circumstances are treacherous, said this:

"Numerous victims were assumed to be dead by fire personnel operating in the hot zone. Prioritization is a must, but "» all victims should be recovered and moved to (decontamination stations) and triaged."

But, for obvious reasons, victims who have been decapitated don't need to be moved to triage, the report said.